Bangladesh Job Quota Protest: Authorities in Bangladesh have imposed a nationwide curfew following deadly unrest over government job reservations. At least 105 people are now reported to have died after clashes between student protestors and police, news agency AFP says.
Unrest Forces Indian Nationals to Return Home
The unrest, which has been running for at least three weeks, surged this week, forcing about 245 Indian nationals to return home through border points in the northeast on Friday. Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, made a televised call for protesting students to join in discussions with her to find a peaceful solution. However, whether or not the offer will be accepted is yet to be seen as the situation remains volatile.
According to MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, the protests were an “internal” matter of Bangladesh. He assured that the 15,000 Indians, including 8,500 students, now in Bangladesh were safe. It facilitated the return of 245 Indians, including 125 students.
Dramatically storming a prison in Narsingdi, student protestors freed hundreds of inmates and razed the facility, said a police official. Hundreds of students protested, demanding the scrapping of reservation of 30 percent of government jobs for families of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence with Pakistan, and set the jailhouse on fire.
Meghalaya CM Ensures Safety of State’s Students
He confirmed that 63 students from the state were safe and said that he is in constant touch with the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh to evacuate more students.
Hundreds of protesters stormed an official state broadcaster, razing the facility to the ground. News television channels and the state broadcaster BTV went suddenly off the air on Friday. According to Reuters, the official websites of the central bank, the prime minister’s office, and police were also hacked by a group calling itself “THE R3SISTANC3.”.
Student Protests Persist with Demands for Resignation
The United States condemned the violence, and State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel called for safe freedom of expression, monitoring the situation very closely.”We will continue our protests until our demands are met,” said one of the protesting students, Sarwar Tushar. “We want the immediate resignation of Sheikh Hasina. The government is responsible for the killings.”.
The demonstrators say the current quota for jobs benefits ruling party supporters of Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League led the fight for independence. They want a merit-based system instead. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for restraint from all parties and urged the authorities to properly investigate all acts of violence, ensuring accountability of perpetrators. How far this road to crisis will go is anybody’s guess amidst the chaos in Bangladesh, with the nation under curfew and tensions running high.
